NASA's ‘Son of Concorde' jet that will HALVE flight time from US to London step closer to take-off with runway test
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NASA's supersonic "Son of Concorde" plane which will halve the travel time between London and New York is zooming ever closer to take-off.
The X-59 jet will even break the sound barrier when it flies - but won't produce a sonic boom, thanks to its unique design.
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Concept illustration of the X-59 shooting through the sky
Credit: SWNS
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Nasa and Lockheed Martin are speeding ahead with tests of the supersonic X-59 jet
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
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The 30m-long and 9m-wide plane has a sharp, stiletto-style nose
Credit: Alamy
When up and running, the aircraft will hurtle along at altitudes of at speeds of 937mph at 55,000 feet up.
Nasa revealed it struck another milestone in the plane's journey toward the skies with crucial low-speed taxiing tests.
The X-59 moved around purely under its own power for the first time at US Air Force Plant 42 on July 10.
Taxiing is the final stage of ground tests before Nasa can take it up into the skies - and the maiden voyage is chalked for later this year.
Over the coming weeks, pilots will gradually increase the speed on the runway - leading to high-speed manoeuvres when it will travel fast enough to take off.
Engineers tested key systems like steering and breaking during the low-speed run through.
Nasa said: "These checks help ensure the aircraft's stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected."
The X-59 is the crown jewel in Nasa's Quesst mission - which aims to prove supersonic flight is possible without a deafening sonic boom.
Instead, the X-59 will produce a much quieter sonic "thump".
Currently, commercial passenger planes are banned from going at such speeds – if they were able to – over land in the UK and US on account of the noise levels.
Near-supersonic jet that can fly London-New York at speeds 'not seen since Concorde' unveiled with luxury living spaces
The 30m-long and 9m-wide X-59 has a sharp, stiletto-style nose that engineers believe will reduce the noise
The space agency believes their new jet could fly from London to New York in three-and-a-half hours.
Lori Ozoroski, a project manager at Nasa, previously said: "We had a commercial supersonic aircraft, the Concorde.
"But it was limited during its flights that it could not fly, say into, you know, somewhere in the middle of the U.S.
"You were not allowed to fly supersonic over land.
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The jet's F414-GE-100 engine is mounted on top of the aircraft
Credit: Lockheed Martin / Gary Tice
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The X-59 has a sharp nose designed to reduce the sonic boom
Credit: Reuters
"So most of the flights were back and forth just over the ocean. And so again, that ban has been in place for 50 years, over 50 years in the US.
"A lot of international countries as well have similar bans.
"And so the whole goal of this research that we're doing right now is to lift that ban and set a speed limit for commercial supersonic aircraft rather than a speed limit."
Lori added: "The sound level is more like – we've done studies – it's more like a car door closing, you know, across the street at your neighbour's house rather than the very loud typical sonic boom."
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